u/throwawayformyblues

Hi everyone! I loveeee playing puzzle games of all kinds, as well as physical board games and puzzles like crosswords logic grids etc. I'm now developing my own detective game with its own puzzle system, i've done a lot of research by manually analysing games I've already played, but I want to read some stuff from professionals to get further insight into the design process!

Specifically I'm looking for books on game design that focus more on puzzles rather than general game mechanics! Blogs, articles or academic papers would also work!

I've been working on a short interactive fiction / story-heavy detective game since February this year, and I'm planning to release either in Late June or sometime during July. It would be nice if I could find a jam, festival, showcase etc on Itch to submit it to for some more recognition and constructive critique.

I'm aware that most jams are designed so you only make your game during the jam period - but I've seen a few jams where they want you to finish a game you've already started, or jams where it's a multi-month development period etc... just wondering if there's any going on this summer on itch that I would be allowed to enter!

You win some magazine competition where you’re taken to a massive multifloor toy store (eg. hamleys, Toys R Us, etc) which has every toy brand you could ever want.

They give you a voucher for $1000 to spend in-store. You can’t exchange it for real money.

You can buy whatever you want in the store. Anything there as long as you don’t go over the budget. You can’t sell anything you buy, or give it away, or donate it to charity. You can only buy toys for yourself to keep.

What are you buying and why?

Since i was a kid who started puberty early i’ve always wished i had A or B cups, but no I was cursed with massive F cups. I’m nonbinary and they give me so much dysphoria, i never wanted a masculine flat chest but just want a very small one.

I get loads of pain from wearing bras, my ribs ache by the end of every day but if i don’t wear a bra i develop a skin rash. It’s horrid. It limits the clothes i can wear.

But I’m a graduating student, i can’t afford a reduction at this time or the recovery period, and also im a smoker and would struggle with quitting for the surgery. I would go insane without nicotine for like 6 months straight. So for now I just scroll the results pics on this sub and fantasise about one day… :(